


Into the Abyss

by scribensdracones (orphan_account)



Category: Noblesse (Manhwa)
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Going to Hell, I love Ignes but she still deserves to die, Psychological Horror, extremely au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-04-29 20:43:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14480835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/scribensdracones
Summary: Don't look at me like that. You asked for these stories. Didn't Roctis ever tell you? Even I was told these stories as a child. That's all it is: a story to scare children. Go on then. Go on and see, I have seen for myself long ago. You probably don't know how to read the writing either... but you are bright. You know what you will need to do to open the gate. That is all I know. Maybe it does not open at all. Maybe there is nothing. Or maybe you will find what you seek. Don't get your hopes up, girl: if you seek death, there is more than one way.Steady your breath, Ignes. You are a clan leader now. Whatever you will see, it must not frighten you. Are you scared of children's tales? Are you scared of dying? Now, of all times? You came to the wrong place if death can frighten you. But what do you expect, really, when you go on a journey with no return?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was not quite satisfied with the path Ignes took in the manwha... so I decided to literally send her on another path... The story starts at the begin of the Lukedonian invasion by the remaining traitor clan leaders. Heavily inspired by the brilliant masterpiece Hellblade: Senua's sacrifice.

„I am not going to fight with you.“  
Though Ignes stood with the traitors, she was not one of them: what did they matter to her? She never had much to do with them anyway. Father did, but out of necessity, she felt. He had nothing in common with them, did he? Nothing but the bond they once shared with the Noblesse... that was all over now. Whether the Noblesse died... whether Lukedonia fell today... none of that really mattered, did it? Tradio knew the way, the legends, far older than even the stories father would sometimes tell her. Tales of the oldest of days... When Ragnarok was young, when the first wielder of Leviathan was but a shade in the seas... The days of giants and myths, one would say. Even they had them.

„From here, I go alone.“  
„ You're insane. There's nothing to be had in the forbidden firth.“  
Gradeus would never understand. Lagus probably did not understand her either. But Edian... Edian might. There was something in her eyes, something about that little nod as if she, too, could understand what Ignes felt right now.  
„I am going anyway.“

It has been centuries since she last set foot on the shores of Lukedonia, a feeling she could not quite describe. Why are you here? Something has been gnawing at her, something that she could not.... would not... ever put into words around anyone else. Who would ever reveal this kind of weakness? „Come on. Don't waste your time like that. Are you just going to duck away like a coward?“ Gradeus was wrong. They all knew that there was a reason that place was forbidden, a reason different than the abandoned place where _**h e**_ once lived.  
„I am going. Good luck. You might need it.“ She turned away. If Sir Raizel was here... they will need it indeed. She had another mission to turn to. Her steps led her away from the bodies of the central knights they had slaughtered. Whatever Gradeus, Tradio and Edian were up to now... Maybe they would be successful. Maybe they and their werewolf allies would take Lukedonia and cast the Lord from her sad little throne. Or maybe they would all die today. Ignes knew she would not mourn for them. 

Once, she had played by that bay, always drawn in and at the same time... something inside of her shied away, even now. What did they call it? A place of no return. If Lagus was right... if all of their stories were right... there would be more than water and stone. Ignes followed a narrow trail along the cliffside. Step by step, sometimes sideways, back pressed against the cold stone. Something about the murky waters beneath her made her uncomfortable enough to avoid it. Silly. Silly girl. You are the water. The water is your home. And still.. eventually, she left behind the sounds of violent battles further into the island. Now, nothing but silence was left. Eventually, she reached the end of the fjord. A unusually cold place, the sun blocked out by the long shades of the cliffs that protected this cursed place. Cursed, yes, she could feel it. However, this is where her journey... no. It did not end here. Here, before this great gate of stone, her journey only began.

_A great gate has been built... to keep out intruders. Or maybe it has been built to keep in whatever might be lurking behind... Don't look at me like that. You asked for these stories. Didn't Roctis ever tell you? Even I was told these stories as a child. That's all it is: a story to scare children. Go on then. Go on and see, I have seen for myself long ago. You probably don't know how to read the writing either... but you are bright. You know what you will need to do to open the gate. That is all I know. Maybe it does not open at all. Maybe there is nothing. Or maybe you will find what you seek. Don't get your hopes up, girl: if you seek death, there is more than one way._

Tradio's voice still echoed in her mind as her fingertips gently touched the cold stone. No, she could feel it: this must be where she needed to go. This **must** be the way, or else... or else... or else it was all in vain. Could she turn back, then? Could she join their fight? Would she? Would she turn around, head back, return to the Union? Would she seek shelter somewhere else? Would she give herself to the seas the way he did not get to?  _You know what you will need to open the gate..._ Ignes never has been a very intuitive person, detached from stories and legends. Science was her home, knowledge and flesh, not magic and the secrets of the soul.. the secrets of the blood... Didn't their power lie in it...? Sod it, she told herself, nails digging into the palm of her hand. A sharp pain as she forced herself to dig deeper until she could feel the sting of pierced skin. Blood on her hands... such a familiar feeling. Ignes drew a deep, shaky breath before reaching out, smearing what little blood she had drawn from her palm over the stone.

Open. You must open. It must work. She took a step back. Nothing. Why did nothing happen? Something should happen! Has she been fooled? Was Tradio right? Was she chasing tales meant to scare children? No. Something happened. It called out to her from the depths of not even her soul, but something even more primal, a voice reverberating through each inch of her being. ' _Ignes Kravei. Daughter of the seas, mistress of the Leviathan. Turn around, here walk the dead_.' Turn around and live – turn around to where? To go back meant to have somewhere to go. But she had nowhere. Nowhere to go, no one to run to. With a sudden surge of determination, she placed both hands against the stone and pushed – and the gates gave in to her touch, this time. Stale air met her. When was the last time someone had come here? Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness. A tunnel, but she could not see beyond the sharp turn awaiting her after ten feet. Go. You have nowhere else to go but forward.

“Leviathan, heed my call,” she whispered and felt the weapon's handle manifest in her hand. She clutched it, seeking reassurance. Not that she could sense any dangers nearby – hers was the only beating heart within a mile. Steady your breath, Ignes. You are a clan leader now. Whatever you will see, it must not frighten you. Are you scared of children's tales? Are you scared of dying? Now, of all times? You came to the wrong place if death can frighten you.  
Step by step, she followed the tunel. One hand kept a grip on Leviathan, the other trailed along the stone wall to her left. A long corridor, still dark – no. Another turn, left this time, and the weak gleam of light – an exit? She could feel air, too! A sensation that encouraged her to go on.

Eventually, she reached the end of the tunnel. A sunlit path – where did the sun come from? Was she still in the fjord? In the mountain? The light felt wrong – there was no warmth in these golden rays. No birds sang in the trees unmoved by the cold breeze. Maybe she was where she meant to go – and Ignes was not sure whether it was what she expected. But what do you expect, really, when you go on a journey with no return? What do you expect when you decide to walk among the dead? What do you prepare for when you go where no one else has gone and lived to tell the tale? Follow the path. Step by step, she would have to follow it. What was a light clearing turned into a forest – dancing shades between the trees, ancient whispers that might be but the wind whistling through the leaves – did she hear sighs? Did she hear words?

 _What is she doing?_ Ignes turned around – had it come from behind her? A whisper? The whisper of a girl! Had she heard it? Had the wind played a trick on her? Calm down. Steady your breath. Keep going. Slowly, she let her gaze wander. Could this still be Lukedonia? It must be. The rational part of her knew that this must be still in Lukedonia – it could not possibly be anything else, after all. A whole part many of them never explored? She had not gone far enough to truly be somewhere _else_. Besides... if there was no place to go... then all of this was meaningless to begin with. _Why is she here?_ There! Again! Once more, she looked around, grip tightening on the hilt of Leviathan. Where did it come from? She was certain she had heard it! Somewhere here – here, where she heard no breath but her own. Calm down. Do not let it stop you.

_Do you think she can hear us? Hihihi! She can hear us!_

Ignes stopped. Did … was... A drop of sweat ran down her forehead, salty on her lower lip. Each shadow made her feel deeply uncomfortable. A chatter somewhere, far away.

 _What is she doing?_ What was she doing, indeed?!  
_She must be mad....                     No. She is looking for him_.                  _Why would she do that?_  
                                      Where is she going?                      Has she gone mad?  
Why would she come h _ere?                                         Can she hear us?               Is she looking for you?_  
 _Why is she always like that?_  
 _Ignes, what are you doing ?_

She stopped, breath shallow. "SHOW YOURSELF!" Show yourself, you bunch of cowards! Leviathan gleamed with the red energy of her soul. But nothing answered her call. Even the breeze had stopped - the shadows danced no longer. A slow breath. she had heard them. Men, women, near, far, above, below, besides, everywhere. Where were they? She could not see them. She could not hear them. Another soft chuckle came to her ear.  
_I can't believe it.   She can finally hear us!_  
 _Will she listen to us?                               As if she will listen.                        Has she ever listened to anyone?_  
 _Has she listened to you?_  
  
Ignes turned around once more. Green leaves seemed almost golden in the afternoon sun, the tall grass off the beaten path moved gently with a breeze that seemed to come from further along the path. She had expected corpses, darkness, the stench of death – no voices. The voices of what?

“Who are you?!” She received no answer. The voices held no answer for her – and so she must press onward, heart racing in her chest, beating against her ribcage. This, this was worse than a flood of enemies. Enemies she could see, enemies she could fight, enemies who had one goal: to end her life.. and she, too, would only have one goal: to end theirs. But this? What was this fiendish trickery?! She must continue her path. With whispers in her ears ( they sent icy shivers down her spine! ) she followed, uphill. The shadows stretched over the path, a wall of darkness. The wind was freezing cold now, harsh, biting at her skin.

_Why does she go on?!                        She could turn around!                       She should not turn around._   
_She must redeem herself.                               She cannot redeem herself!                    Say something!_   
_You must stop her!                              Don't stop her!                          She is doing it for you!                    She will die!_   
_She can't do it!                            No, she can!                      She must!                  She mustn't!_   
_It's too hard!                                    No one can do this!                This is pointless.                      It's not.             Turn back._   
_Tell her to turn back!                             It's not too late.                   No one would know.             No, she must do it!_   
_Why should she do it?                    It's too late to save him.                                 She should go back._

Did they... Ignes stopped dead in her tracks. They knew. They knew why she was here. Only one goal, one purpose drove her forward. Remember why you are here, Ignes. Maybe her idea was right – then she did not hear the whispers of enemies. Remember why you are here. Eventually, she reached a narrow mountain pass – she could hardly stretch out an arm to the side, felt uncomfortable in this closed space. Here, the whispers felt like an echo ringing in her ears. Go on. They should not stop her. They would not stop her. They could not stop her. How long did she walk forwards? The wind was intense, forcing itself through the narrow canyon, burning in her eyes. Go on. Ignes raised an arm, trying to protect her eyes from the unpleasant sensation of the biting cold. This, this felt more like it. Each step made her more certain that this is where she must go – and finally, she was met with a beach stretching out before her. This... could not be Lukedonia. The snowy mountains... The sea stretching out before her, an intense dark blue contrasting with the golden gleam of sunrise, a sky painted blue, pink and gold. No. She had arrived in the late evening, side by side with the other remaining clan leaders... She had walked through a sunny afternoon forest....  
_Are we in Lukedonia?                          I did not know there is such a place.                     We are not there.  
                        Where else would we be?                                    I don't like this place.                          She should go back._

Ignes felt comforted by the presence of the sea. This is where I am at home. Where, however, should she look? In the depths of the sea? In the mountains stretching out before her? Where was she meant to go?

 **Turn back**.

Another voice. One that made her blood freeze in her veins. “Father?!” No. She could not be hearing _him_. There was no way. “Where are you?!” Gone. All gone. The unbearable noise of countless whispers was now replaced with equally cruel silence. She had heard him! She heard it clearly! Distorted as it was, it was familiar. A whisper from far away... or maybe a memory... a memory of all the times he would stop her. Not this time.

“I have nowhere to turn back to.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks to those who test-read it for me, helping out with the pacing and wording. I am really excited to be writing this!

The voices did not return – she was grateful for that. They were right: if she wanted, she could still go back. Return to the main island, fight side by side with the old clan leaders to take their old home and end the reign of Lord Raskreia and Sir Raizel. Then... what then? That would not make her any less lonely. From the darkness inside her soul there was only one escape. Only one thing could lift the gloom from her heart and give her mind an illusion of peace. This is why she must go on. With nowhere in this world left to go, where else would she go but forward? Forward, ever along the beach. Ignes could not tell for how long she had simply walked forwards. Fog built up, growing more and more intense the further she walked. After a while, she could hardly see. Tentatively, she stretched out an arm, hardly able to see her own hand.

_Look at this! She can't see!                               Haha, you are funny! I can't see at all!                                  Where will she go now?                               Where are we going ?                                               She will get lost!  
                                       She will not even find the way back!                                        Maybe she will!                                                                                           Stupid, she doesn't want to go back anyway!_

If I stray, I am lost, she thought. Would   she wait for the fog to lift? She felt like she should not, though some of these voices whispered that she should. If she always walked forward... never straying to the sides... she should be able to find her way. There was nowhere else to go. Go on. Past the fog that clung to her damp and cold, past the voices that whispered into the void. Were these...? There was no other explanation. If they were truly what she believed them to be... then this place was special. Ghosts came alive here. This thought gave her courage. She had heard him clearly, from far away he had called out to her. Turn back. No. She would not. How could she? He needed her. He deserved better. For once in her miserable life she must do something good. For once in her life she must not live for herself, but do something for someone else. For once she must be someone less loathsome than she truly was. Death would come for her either way – now, in a year, in a thousand years, it hardly mattered. Sometimes, the only choice you have is the way it ends. You only die once, so make it matter. Did she feel heroic? In a certain way, yes. A part of her hoped that this was not hopeless after all. A part of her hoped that she could have it all. A part of her hoped that sometimes you could be receive without sacrifice. As if she had not learned it before: nothing worthy comes at no cost. There was always a price to pay – and deep down inside, she still feared the price she would pay in the end. Everyone had to pay: Death was no merciful master.

As she pondered over the point of her journey, the fog finally lifted. She had reached another gate. Another gate! This time, however, it did not budge. Just there, behind the bars, she could see the bridge across the mist. Is that it? The bridge into the other world? Yet how.. how was she supposed to pass? No. Since when could a wall stop her? “Leviathan!” A gate would not stop her! The whip manifested in her hand, voices shrieking in her ears, drumming in her head, a surge of power rushing through her whole body. With a yell, she slashed at the brazen bars of the gate – and she stumbled back as if hit by a shockwave. This assault should have torn stone and steel asunder, yet there it stood, untouched by the force of her savage attack. She lunged at it again, swinging the whip with a sudden flash of anger. The shock of the impact was enough to make her stumble back.

  _Hahaha! Look at her!                              Can't even open a door. Pathetic!                                How is she going to save him?                                     She cannot even open a gate!                               It won't budge._  
                          _Why won't it open?                                       The other gate opened too!                                 She is alive.  
                                                                                This place is not meant for the living.                       Let's turn back._  
_She could still go back.                          She does not want to.                                         She played enough.                                   She should go back.  
Silly girl.                               He's gone.                   Go back._  
_You cannot open it.                                  You are not strong enough._  
_.                            You never were_

 Shut up, she whispered. With so much noise in her head, how could she think? Leviathan dissipated into thin air. With shallow breath, she paced back and forth a couple of steps. The bars were too narrow for her to fit through. Only now did she stop, contemplating the gate before her. Arching almost fifty feet up, 20 feet in breadth. Heaver... and sturdier... than she would have assumed. The walls around it were even higher. What kind of stone was it? She could not discern. Why could she not pass? Were... were they right? Was she truly but in a forecourt, a front yard to the underworld? The realm of the dead... where the living shall not pass... But she had to pass. She must go there, find its heart. Then... then she would find peace. I will not leave, she told herself, though she was not certain how to go about it. 

  _Do you think she should climb it?                                         As if climbing will work-                                  If she cannot break it by force....                           ..is there another way?  
                                                                    Maybe she can find another way . _  
                                    _There is no other way .                                                     There should be no other way.  
                                                                          Why would there be another way?                            She does not belong here!                             
                                    This was doomed to fail._  
_At least she tried!                                          She should go now.                                                           The gate won't open for you._  
_Haha. Maybe you should just die._

For the first time in her life, raw force did not work. Climb it. Would that work? Hesitantly, she walked a few paces to the left, then to the right, She had never needed to climb something, yet she felt too heavy to jump – and a part of her did not **want** to jump anyway. No. Don't be a coward. This was just a gate – when has she ever been superstitious, fearing thundering punishment from above? And so she leapt, landing on top of the narrow wall. It worked? It worked! Why didn't... but it worked. 

_Oh. It worked.                                         Haha, that was easy!                                  That was too easy.                                She can still go back.                                  Will it be too late?  
                                                                             I am scared of crossing.  
_ _She should not go.                   Ignes, you can still go back!                                  It's pointless._ _She won't listen to us                        She never listened to you!_  
                                                                           Why didn't you teach her to listen?!

From here, she could see it well. The bridge that led across a stormy sea shrouded by mist, the mountains in the distance. White peaks against a clear blue sky. It's not that scary, she told herself. Go on. No doom and gloom, she could do this. To hell with their whispers, she told herself and leapt from the wall she had perched on. The landing on the other side felt harder than she had anticipated. Tentatively, she placed a hand against her chest. Her heart was still beating. She was still breathing. Everything would be alright. She has been afraid for nothing. She would go in deeper, follow that bridge, and by the end of it she would find him.   
Through the mist approached a tower. This time, she was not met with a gate, at least - but an opening, narrow. She would have to duck to squeeze past the old, damaged stone. The opening in the wall led her into a tunnel. oh, she hated such closed, narrow spaces.  Alas, what good was there in resisting? It's just a tunnel. Eventually, she saw a light - the end of it! Ignes started moving faster, still ducking to avoid hitting her head against the low beams that kept up the narrow shaft. There! Ignes sighed a breat of relief when she left the -

_WATCH OUT!_ The warning had come too late – with a high-pitched scream of surprise, she was flung to the side, landing a few feet away from where she had left the tunnel. For a second, her vision blurred, she could only make out the shadow of what had assaulted her. She scrambled back to her feet, Leviathan showed itself once more as she prepared to face the sledgehammer-wielding creature. A monster, pale skin covered in scars, a chain around its neck – and skulls danged from it like pearls on a necklace. She jumped aside, avoiding a second hit by the hammer. Stay calm. Whatever that thing was, she must be able to kill it.  “You won't stop me!” She only received a deep, guttural grunt as response. That thing, towering almost five feet above her, would not stop her. Whatever this place would throw at her, she would conquer! Eyes on the prey. It was so slow! With ease she jumped back, bringing some distance between herself and that thing – yet as she lashed out at it with the whip, she staggered back. As if she had run into a wall, the recoil forcing her a few steps back – and she tried again, with a yell of rage that propelled her movements forward. The creature in front of her approached her still, dragging the massive hammer over the stone ground.  
  
_It's immune?!                                           Why didn't she hurt it?                              Try again!  
              It's so slow!                     There must be a way to kill it! _

Why didn't her attacks work? Why would Leviathan not harm it?! Did she... would she have to fight it hand to hand? She jumped aside once more, avoiding the massive swing of the hammer. Shrouded in a mist of darkness, she could not break through it with the whip. Why not?! Keep your eyes on the enemy. Never let yourself get distracted.     _Watch out! Behind you!_ She heard the warning of what came before she felt it. A slight breeze, the sensation of a blade cutting through air, thrust towards you – narrowly, she dodged underneath the sword and rolled to the side. A second enemy had appeared behind her, shaped like a tall man, a sleeve bathed in fire. Now she could smell it, too, the stench of burnt flesh. Leviathan could not get past the darkness that wrapped these two creatures, sheltered from her assault.

_Keep going!                     What if she dies?!                                   She won't make it!_  
                                                    _Evade!                                              Behind you!                                               Watch out!_  
_You should flee!                                                                             Where is she supposed to go?_

“ SHUT UP!”, she roared, overwhelmed by the voices screaming in her head. Too loud, too shrill, too many. She could not focus. She must focus, stay out of the reach of their weapons. A shriek. Distracted by the voices, she had not felt it: a blade from her left– she'd lifted her arm, blocking the worst of it. Blood. She was bleeding ?! With a gasp, Ignes jumped aside. Three. Three of them. Why were there three ?! They had come from nowhere. Shadows were closing in, drowning out the light from outside. Then, everything stood still; the dust in the air, the sledgehammer seconds from crashing into her, the sword-wielder frozen in a side-step to flank her. She heard nothing but her own blood dripping from her arm onto the ground... and her breath. Short and heaving, not because she was exhausted – but because fear burned in her veins.

What was this darkness? Even the voices were silenced. The darkness surrounding them brought the intense scent of rot and decay … a frosty shiver ran down her back, a cold that was beyond a mere chill. This was the cold of a tomb. She could feel the darkness gazing at her. There she stood, exposed to a thousand invisible eyes that saw right through her.

She took a single step closer, trying to discern something in the billowing mass of darkness before her. A face? A figure? Something? She could feel it. What was hiding in this impenetrable darkness?

 “I am Ignes. I am here to find my father.”

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

I am Ignes. I am here to find my father. Standing before this impenetrable wall of darkness, she learned what true fear is. This fear ran deeper, screamed to her soul in a way nothing had done before. To fear death and to fear Death was not the same thing. Never in her life had she felt like that. Not in the darkness of bleeding eyes, not when the Noblesse had stood before her to pass judgment. In this darkness she saw nothing but despair and decay. She needed no introductions, a primeval part of her knew what she was facing.  “I am here for my father,” she repeated slowly, daring to take another step closer. The darkness, too, came closer. “Take my soul for his. I am here to save him.” Her voice was shaky. How did you speak to something like that? Did it hear her? Was it anything but a menacing shroud of sinister gloom? It was worth a try. Ignes took another step closer. “Do you hear me?! Answer me! Give him back to me!” Reassured by the silence, she reached out, into the darkness. Yet as her fingertips dove into the black mist, a flashing pain shot through her arm, shockwaves spread from her fingers into her whole body. Her own screams rang in her ears as she dropped to her knees, clutching at her aching arm. It would not go away. Tears burned in her eyes as she clawed at her forearm as if it could remedy the stinging and twisting sensation that spread all over her from the inside – as she laid there, plagued by an agony she had not imagined before, the darkness lifted. She was alone.  
Ignes could not tell for how long she had been lying on the cold stone, listening to the whispers and the crashing of the waves outside. It was all so distant.  
This darkness... a taste of what was to come? An illusion? The monsters that had assaulted her were gone. The fog of doom had dissipated.

 _This is what you are up against.                          You cannot beat the darkness.                               This darkness was always inside of you.                   Go back.                           You still can go back._  
                           You cannot save him.                                           He's already dead.                                         You can't do this.                      You are mad.  
You saw it with your own eyes.                       You felt it.                                              Nothing but death lies ahead.                                Did he die for you to die?  
                                  Ungrateful child.                                 Go back.                                                         You cannot fight the darkness.                                  The darkness will have you.

 For the first time, her doubts felt **real**. What if the voices were right? She had seen it herself. The shadow warriors she could not harm with Leviathan, the darkness... this awful, terrible darkness that made her feel deeply nauseous. This darkness taught immortals to understand what fearing death is like. She had thought it would be easy. Fight through enemies the way you have fought before, a straightforward path to a clear destination she could understand... and a simple exchange... her soul for his... He'd given her not only her own life... but also his... she must give it back. Some moments, she thought that maybe there was more to it. Another way. A way to walk away with him, hand in hand, reunited once more. Father and daughter. She would no longer be alone. Now, however, it dawned on her: Death could not be negotiated with. No one could bargain with the true master of this world.

 Don't cry. Had she not known this? Why was she afraid, then? She should not have come here. Who knows what lied ahead? Before, there was only a vague conviction that it could not possibly be easy – now, this assumption has been replaced with absolute certainty. If she continued down the path she had chosen... She would not reach her destination and return. Who knows. Maybe... maybe she would not even reach it in the first place. Slowly, she sat up. The cut on her arm... Carefully, she brushed over that spot with her fingers. Nothing. Had it healed... or had it never been there in the first place? A frightening thought. Could she have imagined it? The monsters? The darkness? The pain?  
Did her fear and stupid superstition claimed her sanity as their first victim? Already? It was too soon to lose her mind, she still needed it for the trials ahead. Stand up. You are a clan leader now, you are strong. You must go on. However, it did not feel the same anymore – the darkness, the beasts of shadow – was she really in a place where Leviathan would not serve her? It did not matter. She was not a little girl anymore! Stories and illusions should not frighten her. The darkness has nothing on me, I **am** darkness. I am the monster they see in their nightmare. I am not afraid of these monsters, I am one of them. Fueled with a sudden rage, she pushed open the gate out of the tower – and over the bridge that ran into a field of mist.

The mist was impenetrable – she could not see beyond. This time, she felt scared to reach out into it, she had not forgotten about the pain that had seized her when she tried to touch the darkness. Don't be stupid. She swallowed her fear and lifted her arm. Her fingers dipped into the cold, white fog, they were swallowed whole by a milky white mass of nothingness. Why was she scared to step through it? Why did her heart race in her chest if she has been ready to do anything to get here?

 _ **Turn back**_ . His voice sent a flash of ice and fire down her spine. What in this world would she not do to hear his voice again?! “Father?! Father!” He was gone! Why was he gone? Why did she hear all voices but his?! How many tears had she wasted, begging for anything – come back to me. As a whisper. As a dream. Even for a moment. More than anything in this world...  
“FATHER! I **KNOW** YOU CAN HEAR ME! SPEAK TO ME! I KNOW YOU CAN!”  
Why must she hear all their voices but him?! Why would he not speak to her?!

“I AM DOING THIS FOR **YOU** !” She screamed into the fog, at the bridge behind her, at the sky above her, at the sea to the sides – as if he might be somewhere there, as if her screams and cries would do any good. Angrily, she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. He was gone. Again he was gone, a fleeting voice that haunted her by absence. Torture by separation.

“I need you,” she whispered, voice creaking disgracefully. “ _I need you_ ,” she repeated as though it would change anything. Why would he not speak to her? Why would he leave her in this world? This cruel world that never felt as empty and terrifying when he was still there. Give it meaning. Give it light.

This emptiness, this awful, all-consuming emptiness made her realize she was going the right way. Where else would she go? What would she do? Spend a whole life running from the Noblesse? Live with the weight of his sacrifice until the end of time? What was she supposed to do? What tethered her to that cruel, grotesque world she once had felt familiar with? Filled with grim determination, she crossed the veil of mist, marching ever onwards. Whatever lied ahead... she had nothing to go back to. She told herself she no longer cared about this world she was leaving behind.   
The fight of the remaining traitor nobles was no longer hers. The fight of the union was no longer hers.  
Nothing in that world behind her was hers anymore. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know Ignes is not a popular subject and.. if you got this far and still are reading along, u are great and awesome and thank you.

Turn back. Turn back. Turn back. His voice drummed in her head as she marched forwards, a cruel mockery of her heart's most desperate desire. She could not see a thing in this dense fog, and even then, her tears blurred her vision. Turn back. Turn back.  
“ **I HAVE NOWHERE TO TURN BACK TO!** ” The fog dissipated around her, her voice's echo was lost in the dark of the hall she found herself in. Ignes could feel her heart thudding against her ribcage violently. The humid cold of the fog was gone... yet.. she did not recognize this place. A hall carried by high pillars, stretching out further into all directions than she could see. This darkness... even her noble eyes could not make out the end of this place. Ignes shuddered and turned around. One last look at the way back – but there was none.

One second she has been wading through the fog, she found herself before a wall. No. Don't panic. Ignes placed both hands against the cold stone – and pushed, to no avail. She tried again, with more force. She clenched her fists and slammed them into the wall with her full force, skin ripping under the impact of the hit. With bloody knuckles and tears burning in her eyes, she took a step back. This was a kind of force that should have laid an entire city to waste, let alone a single wall!  
“LEVIATHAN!” Her voice cracked under her own tension. There was no explanation, and without explanation – not even with the power of her soul weapon could she break this wall that blocked her way back.

With heaving breath, she stumbled back, Leviathan dissipating from her grasp. She was trapped. Up until now, she had thought she could just go back – faced with dangers she could not overcome, she always could go back. She could go back and live with the shame of having failed and the reasurance that she had tried at least. Now.. however... helplessly, she placed her hands against the wall once more.

                    _There's no way back.                    It's too late.                        Hah! She is trapped_  
_This is his realm.              He cannot wait to meet her.                         She will die._  
_Now she must go on.                        She will die or succeed_  
  
They were mocking her. They were still mocking her. Angrily, Ignes wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. Now, she was playing at the highest stakes. However, had she not expected this from the start? Foolish girl. Wasn't she ready to give he life for it? Wasn't she ready to bring forth the ultimate sacrifice if it meant that she could make even her debts towards him? His life had been stolen from him far from where their people went to find eternal sleep, put down like a rabid dog,  with no ceremony, no rite and no goodbye. 

Somewhere from above, dim daylight fell into the nave of the hall. What lurked in the darkness to her sides? Ignes could not shake off the feeling of a thousand eyes on her. Was she being watched? Even the voices had gone silent now.

Eventually, the hall narrowed and she was able to see the walls. A few minutes later, she saw them, colossal statues of white marble. Their faces... perfectly carved from stone, features that were almost human. A man with a necklace of human skulls, wielding a scythe stood to her right, a man with a bow to her left. Could it be....? Two women, both wielding staves, one with her eyes blindfolded, the other with a hand clasped over her mouth. A woman raising a shield protectively and a woman concealing two daggers by her sides. A warrior with an impressive lance and a warrior who raised his fists defensively, balancing on one foot... She shuddered. Could it be? Images of the ancients? The clans?

It was a strange idea, the mere possibility she might be looking into the faces of the first clan leaders. Legends. Nothing but legends, and yet, here she was, chasing one of them. Eventually, Ignes reached one statue larger than all others, looming over her. In her heart she knew who this terrible face, hardly humanoid, might belong to. _The First Lord_.

She meant to go on, yet – a whisper passed to her, a deep voice from far away. It gargled, speaking a tongue she only began to grasp after a few moments. The voice reverberated within her soul, shaking her to the very core.

 _You have come here, where no living soul should walk_. _Insolent child. I know what you want here. Your father's soul? His soul is mine. Mine. And your soul will be mine too. I will drink the blood from your veins and devour your soul. What is mine I will not give away, not to you, who disgraced me. You, who longed for me : I long for you too. Your screams will sing to me. My heart will beat to the sound of your bones being crushed. You will fail. Ignes Kravei. Find me and face me and be punished._

Cold shivers ran down her spine as she turned around, trying to locate the source of this voice that seemed to call out to her from the depths of hell itself. In her heart she could feel who spoke to her – and that thought alone filled her with a dread she could hardly begin to describe. With shaking knees, she stumbled back. In this darkness he waited.

  _He will have you.         I told you.                    He hates you.  
                 Well I hate you too.                  I never understood why he kept protecting her.  
He will not let him go.            Blood of our blood.                   _ _No, we are blood of his blood._  
                         Her blood will know him too.

Seized by a sudden panic, she turned around and hurried back – yet a few feet past the last statue, all light ceased and she did not have the heart to run into that darkness. Breathing was difficult. Where was she supposed to go? What was she supposed to do?! Some of the voices laughed. She rushed past the statues, stopped before the image of the Lord.

 _Ignes. Don't be afraid._ “Father! Help me!” Ignes still could not quite control her breathing, all of her being was tense and full of desperate hope. She hoped to hear his voice again, yearned to have him by her side to help her, to guide her and to protect her. Yet he was gone. Still... that single whisper... a single whisper had soothed her soul enough to form a single coherent thought. A reminder of what this was all about. She must have courage.   
Briefly, she considered touching the state of the First Lord – and she changed her mind. Instead, she decided to walk straight. Always straight. Never stray.

       _She can't see a thing.                             Why is she going that way ?!_  
She will get lost.                    Is something stalking her?   
                             She is scared.                                           Not too scared to go on.  
Why is she doing that?                     She must go on.   
                         There's no point.                                She cannot go back.  
                                                She cannot save him. 

  
Ignes thought of her father. Of his smile. Of the warmth she felt when he held her in her arms. The memory of this warmth shielded her, gave her faith. However, with each step, her strength wavered. What if she was going the wrong way? What kind of monsters lurked in this darkness? No darkness should ever be deep enough to blind a noble. I must go on, she told herself. After a while, her eyes started adjusting to the darkness around her – or maybe the walls got more narrow. There! A light! A single ray of light, falling through the crack of a door. Her steps sped up and, with a desperate gasp, she pushed open the door. Daylight flooded the corridor and she took a deep breath. She stood before yet another bridge, leading up to what seemed to be a fortress of driftwood and the remains of broken ships. Did she enter his realm?

“Leviathan!” This, this must be it, she could feel it screaming in her soul, a presence that was both terrifying and familiar. Before her, darkness crept in, monsters stepping out of the dark mist. Whatever the void would throw at her – she would defeat it! With a yell of rage, she lashed out at the creature and this time, Leviathan left a deep wound, bleeding red. Nothing would stand between her and his soul. Not these monsters, not the darkness, not the old Kravei himself. King of the Seas, terror of the depths, the one who taught humans to fear the storms.   
Darkness closed in on her, heavy clouds turning the sky into a dark, stormy night within seconds. With each step, with each enemy, the wind grew stronger as if everything in this place was opposed to her getting any closer.  
Eventually, enemies ceased coming at her – she approached yet another gate. The ground trembled, moved by heavy step. Ignes stopped. The gate... it was opening! The ground shook again and she took a step back, suddenly intimidated. This must be... She could see nothing but darkness coming from the gate.

 _Yes. Here I am. This is your moment. Aren't you here to save your father?_ Ignes stumbled back when she saw that creature coming towards her – dark grey skin and red, hellish eyes gleaming at her. The son of half a titan, the king of the seas, father of all members of her clan. _Aren't you here to save him? Are you showing weakness?_ With a gasp, she stumbled back, falling to her knees, unable to face this … thing. This horror had nothing to do with the graceful nobles of these days. A monster, cold and primeval. You are a disgrace! A disgrace! Get up! Fight! Show me what you are worth! With a yell, she called forward Leviathan, stumbling back to her feet.  
“GIVE HIM BACK TO ME!”, she shrieked, charging at the kneeling giant before her. This was her moment! Now she would challenge the forefather of all her people to release this one soul she cherished more than anything in this world!

Yet as she lashed out at him, the whip tore – No! No! Nothing in this world could ever break a soul weapon! This couldn't be! With terror in her eyes, she stumbled back, empty-handed. With a single swipe of the massive arm, she was swept off the bridge, into the dark, stormy waters beneath.

Darkness and cold encased her.

 

  

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to lack of interest, this will be the last chapter I am posting. It's really more of a draft, condensing the various chapters I still intended to write, since I love this work too much to just abandon it cold. There are merely some ideas I felt the need to write down. I am sorry for the lacking coherence. I cried a thousand tears while writing this so.... yeah...

  * **The Beach - Despair**



With a loud, desperate gasp, she emerged from the freezing waters of the sea beneath the palace of the true Leviathan. Helplessly, she held on to a piece of driftwood, a stinging, burning pain in her side. Eventually the currents washed her ashore, cold and bruised, feeling _empty_ in a way she never had felt before. Almost as though a part of her has been torn out and ripped apart – Leviathan. It would no longer heed her call.

 _She really lost it.                  P_ _athetic.                            All of this was for nothing._  
_He is dead anyway.                       She will die soon too.                    She better do._  
_She puts us to shame                Unworthy of being a clan leader_  
_Never was, never will be It's over.                   What is she going to do without a weapon?_

_She is weak.                    She cannot even defend herself_

_HE won't release him out of pity._

Was all of this for nothing, really? Ignes sat by the beach for longer than she could tell, her throat feeling dry and sore, her side still aching. The old monster must have broken a rib of hers, or maybe the impact with the water. Either way, it hurt, still hurt. Why did she take so long to regenerate?! Not that it mattered. Without Leviathan... without her soul weapon... What was she supposed to do, anyway?

* * *

  * **Under the Mountain - The Sword and the Great Wolf**



 With a strangled yell, she leapt forward, into the saving light, scrambling back to her feet upon impact with the hard, cold stone beneath her. This monster that has been chasing her - there was nowhere left to go for her. She must fight, at whatever cost. Here, at the bottom of this wretched place, here, in the lair of this monster that stalked her all the way. Even from all the way up, she had seen it glistening - a surface shining brighter than polished silver, a sharp edge. Without thinking, Ignes reached out for the sword. Was this.... It looked so much like the sword she had seen only once, many centuries ago, during a ceremony - could this truly be Ragnarok?    _No. Not my soul, but my bone - I will still help you, blood of my blood_.   The voice that spoke to her, reaching her mind from the depths of her own soul, filled Ignes with a terrified awe she has never known before.  Blood of my blood... Then this monster was -

It leapt at her out of the shadows and almost crushed her in its maws. " **Finally! I can see you**!"  To wield this sword, heavy and solid in her hands, filled her with a courage she thought she had lost. She was no longer unarmed. She was no longer helpless - nothing would stand in her way anymore. The great wolf, a six-eyed abomination of white, shaggy fur and deep wounds covered in rot, venom dripping from its bared fangs.  "You will not have me!" 

Maybe this was not the great wolf of legend. Maybe this was just another of this place's morbid tricks. Maybe this was not a sword caved from a bone of the First Lord. Maybe none of this meant anything. Maybe this was but a nightmare from which she could not wake on her own.   
Slowly, Ignes placed her hand over her side, feeling the warmth of her own blood. Black blood dripped from the edge of the sword as she took a step away from the foul corpse of the beast she had slain. One, one of many. No matter how many monsters she would have to fell, in the end, she would reach her final destination. Come what may, she must go on.   
_You found your courage again. That will not be enough. You may have a weapon, but still, you are not worthy of calling yourself clan leader. The gates of my home will be locked to you, the path to your father closed forever, if you cannot face the darkness inside of you. Worth is more than power._

Kravei's deep, guttural voice sent shivers of fear and discomfort down her spine. The way he spoke to her, from within... A menacing tremble shook the ground she stood on, the sound of rocks cracking, shafts collapsing - this whole mountain would bury her alive! Seized by panic, she ran for the opening in the stone walls before her, wide enough to let her pass. Rocks turned into thorny twigs, scratching at her clothes and skin. She must go on, anyway, away from the collapse. The walls were no longer walls, but mishapen branches of a tall forest, her feet no longer had solid rock underneath, but soft, wet mire. 

  * **A sea of Blood - Facing the Darkness**



Ignes stumbled along the marsh, yet the murky greens turned into reds soon enough - a shriek escaped her throat as a hand grasped at her from the side- the branches and twigs had become arms, hands and fingers, an impenetrable wall of hands that tried to grab her.  She could run nowhere but forward, through this canyon of cadavres, through the waist-deep blood that soaked into her clothing, hot and heavy with the stench of iron.  Ignes was by no means sensitive to blood, to violence, to the natural scent of death and decay - and yet, this was overwhelming, terrifying on a primeval level she could not control with her own rationality. 

   A soft laugh reached her, a voice vaguely familiar. _Look at them. The blood of your victims. How many died? Do you like it?_  This voice... it was none she had heard before, yet it filled her with a kind of discomfort she could not describe yet. Her steps led her through the canyon, ever forward, for there was nothing to go back to. Finally, she stepped out into what was almost a clearing, seamed with corpses of different sizes, skinned alive, bloody and rotting and still moving, piled on top of each other, their screams, sighs and whispers joined the voices of her ancestors into an infernal choir that made her nauseous.

( … … … )

All of this was too much. She stumbled forward, almost slipping as she, with trembling limbs, climbed the bridge of giant bodies that closed the gap between this side and the other. Nausea had settled in by now, she had gagged more than once. The stench of rot was overwhelming. “ **What do you want me to do?!** ” Why had he sent her here, into this wasteland of blood and rot? To fight the darkness? What darkness? There was nothing here but blood.  
Nothing but blood and the sound of steps, shoes wading through the same bloody and muddy surface as she had.

“Don't you like it here?” A sweet voice that chased an icy shiver down her spine. Gripping Jormungandr tighter, Ignes turned around to be met with herself, a wide smile, long raven hair swept over one shoulder, a lab coat thrown over simple black clothes. The pristine white of the coat shone too bright in this red hell, untarnished by the rain and the blood.

“Don't look at me like that. Huh. I should introduce myself.” The doppelgaenger gave her a shining smile, hands behind her back as she whipped back and forth on her heels. “I am Ignes Kravei.”  
“Not a step closer!” Ignes raised the sword defensively and her mirror-self ignored the warning, stepping closer – she was so much taller up close, towering over her by almost four feet.  
“You look so small, not like a clan leader at all!” The imposter raised both of her eyebrows in what might be genuine surprise, one hand on her chin.  
"Who  **A R E**   you?!"  Was this yet another trick?! Another game this waking nightmare made her play?   
"Why, _I_  am  _you_... but  _stronger_. Better. Worthier. Look at yourself. Is this really all you are, after everything you did?"   
With a yell, Ignes lunged at the imposter, swinging her sword for the legs - yet the blade seemed to cut through thin air, as though the false Ignes was nothing but dust and ash held together by the power of her overly vivid imagination. With a laugh, the false Ignes swung her arm at her real self, knocking her back. Swiftly, Ignes scrambled back to her feet. 

(... ... ...)

 “ **You**! You are the darkness! **YOU** made me this way!” Her breath was heaving. Finally, finally it dawned on her. Before her stood Darkness, that most awful part of her, this voracious monster that needed to be worshiped in blood and the suffering of others.   
Darkness laughed. “Me? No. No. It's you. Only you. I am you, and you are me. There's no escape from me.”

 “No! That's not me! I am not you! You are not me!”   
Darkness approached her with slow steps, one hand on her waist. “Oh, come on. Of course you are. You experimented on all these people. It's your hands that are red with blood. You killed them. You enjoyed their suffering.”  
Ignes swallowed. Yes. That was true. She had enjoyed it, loved that power she'd held over them. Her little playthings.  
“Poor little you, wanted this power so bad. Is that why you let him die?”  
“What? No! I didn't! You know I didn't!”  
“You ran. Coward! You ran!” Ignes jumped back as Darkness lunged at her, a malicious gleam in her crimson eyes. “You left him to die. Didn't go back. Didn't release the werewolf sooner. Admit it. Deep down inside you, you wanted him gone, you little wretch.”  
“ **I MADE A MISTAKE!** ” One mistake that cost her everything. Blinded by rage, she launched another assault on the false Ignes standing before her. “ **Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”** Darkness evaded the flurry of attacks easily, almost dancing past the lethal blade. However... she seemed _smaller_ now, no longer towering over Ignes by several feet.  
“So what will you do?! Huh? Save him? You?! Quit it! It's too late for you to play a hero! You will never save him! You are too weak!” Darkness kicked at her and Ignes stumbled back, almost dropping her sword.

“I WILL find him! Not you, not the wolf, not Kravei, not the Noblesse and the Lord combined will stop me!”, she spat, chest heaving under her heavy breath as she got back up on her feet again.  
For a moment, Darkness halted, her steps slowed down.  
“You! He won't even let you into his palace! You aren't worthy of being a clan leader. All you have ever been is a monster, and that's all you ever will be. Wretched, pathetic little monster!”  
“That won't stop me! Whatever I was, that part will die! I _**will**_ save his soul. No matter what!” Darkness was hardly taller than her by now, as if her mere power of will forced the darkness to retreat.  
Too soon. She had gained confidence too soon – with a sweeping attack, Darkness lunged at her, evading in last second to assault her from behind instead – Ignes half turned as she stumbled back. Darkness seized the chance and grasped her by the throat, lifting her off the ground easily, the sword dropped into the red marsh beneath their feet as Ignes struggled to get loose from that grip.  
“You are the one who put him into this misery! You! You never did anything but bring misery to those who love you the most!” Darkness' red eyes gleamed as a malicious, grotesquely wide grin spread on her face, almost dislocating her jaw, revealing sharp, bloodied teeth behind a mouth that could smile so sweet. “I am inside of you. You will never get rid of me. You were born with me, you will die with me. See the temple you built for me!”  
She hurled Ignes away with one sweeping motion, gesturing at their surroundings with her other arm. “All their blood is my wine, their flesh is my bread, their bones are my throne. You sacrificed all of them to me.”

Ignes struggled to get back on her feet, slipping on the wet, swampy ground beneath her. Down there, near the ground, the scent of iron and rot was almost unbearable.  
“You and me, we could've been a goddess together.” Darkness' voice sounded ever so sweet, though she resembled her less and less, turning into a grotesque caricature of herself, a dark, half-rotten creature. “You never knew any Gods. Too bad. Now would have been a good time to pray.”

“You are wrong! I was wrong! It's worthless!” Despair had her in its icy grip. Fear and despair. Was this truly her? If she gave in now – if she abandoned herself … it would be so easy.  
“Yes. Yes!” Darkness looked at her with a distorted grimace, approaching with slow, heavy steps. “Give in to me. Love me. I am you, you are me. Together, nothing in this world can stop us. Give up on him. He is nothing, I am everything.”

He is nothing. Maybe this was her salvation, the cue that made her snap out of this moment of hopelessness. Anger gave Ignes the strength to scramble back to her feet, away from Darkness. “ **You're wrong!** _ **You're wrong!**_ He gave me **everything**! He did everything to keep **YOU** at bay!”  
There, on the ground! She could still make out the hilt – swiftly, she seized the sword. “You! I will not let you take him from me again!” She launched another attack with a roar of rage and this time, her sword penetrated Darkness' side and the creature let out a screech of rage, flames, smoke and putrid pus seeping out of the deep wound Jormungandr had left.  
“ **You have nothing on me anymore!** ” Before Darkness could recover, Ignes followed up with a flurry of more attacks, tearing deep wounds into the creature that, finally, collapsed before her. It whimpered, crawling at her feet. “I don't need you anymore.” She took a step back. “I don't want you anymore.” Another step back. The monstrous thing, hardly shaped like a person at all anymore, no longer moved. “I am done with you.”

* * *

 

**The Palace of the Leviathan**

_What will become of us?                   Ignes, stop!                       You will die._  
                          I  am scared.                           What happens to us?  
Is there anyone left to wield us?                                           Ignes! Stop!                                 Go back!  
                       You did enough!                     I am scared.                             What will happen to me?  
            Ignes!                                  Ignes!                         Listen to us!                Ignes!  
  
“Shut up! Everyone must die eventually!” Ignes felt... nothing. Behind this gate, already open for her, he would wait for her. Behind this gate, she would finally find her father. “I don't care what happens to you. I don't care what happens to me. I will save him, to hell with everything else.” She didn't care about the fear in their voices, didn't even care about her own fears. It would all come to an end. The wounds she carried away from the fight against the beast had not recovered fully, her bones still ached from the confrontation with Darkness. There was nothing to go back to.

There he was! Kravei stood before her in this great hall of bridges and chains. Heavy rain whipped at her, thunder and lightning the witness of their grand encounter. Nothing but the abyss beneath her. Shades threw themselves at her – these monsters she had fought from the beginning, standing between her and Kravei.  
_Behind you_. The awful noise of a thousand voices has been replaced with just one, calm, soothing, so familiar. Father. I am coming for you. She swung her sword as she turned around, neatly beheading an axe-wielding creature that had manifested behind her. Ignes heard nothing but the rush of her own blood, the sound of her blade slicing through flesh and her father's voice, her guide, her light, her protector.  
“ **You will not keep him from me!** ”, she yelled, rushing towards the clan leader. Her countless injuries didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Helplessly, she stumbled, hit by the blade of one of the henchmen of Kravei.  
“I know you're here, father! Hold on! I will find you! YOU HEAR THAT? YOU WILL NOT KEEP HIM FROM ME!” Tears burned in her eyes, clouding her vision, pain rendering her numb to everything else. She must keep on fighting. Kravei watched her with intense eyes.  
“Roctis is dead already. Let go of him. I am warning you. Let go of this. Let go of your fahther. Let go of this battle.” His voice boomed in her ears.  
“ **NEVER! I WILL NEVER SURRENDER HIM TO YOU!** ” He lashed out at her with a majestic black whip – Leviathan, it was his! Though Ignes hardly had the strength left to go on, she was fueled by a fire burning inside of her. Nothing mattered. Nothing mattered anymore. Only he. I will save you. I will save you no matter what.  
Jormungandr could hardly defend her against the whiplashes of the titan, let alone give her opportunities to launch her own attacks. She was tired. Everything burned, everything ached. Ignes' screeched in pain as leviathan tore a deep wound across her chest, going down her side. Her knees gave in under the enormous pain. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she tried to get back on her feet.

 _You have been so brave._ His voice was so gentle. Struggling for breath, she rose to stand once more. _Don't be afraid. It's alright. You don't have to fight anymore. She cried out. “_ I will never stop fighting for you!” _Let go. Everything will be alright_.

Sobbing, she dropped to her knees, no longer having the strength to go on. The wounds inflicted by her enemies... Kravei's overwhelming power... She tried to crawl towards the sword she had dropped, though the giant picked it up first, crouching down in front of her. Her eyes met his, red and unfeeling. Everything was over. For the first time, Ignes allowed herself to cry, loud and desperate. “. I know you have him. I know you can let him go. Release him.... Please.... that's the only thing that matters... I beg you...Please... let him go.... Take my soul... take everything... just please..”  
Her voice, filled with defiant despair at first, was little more than a whisper by now, a whimper. There was nothing left of him and all she could do was cry before the first of her clan, little but a pathetic, broken girl.  
“.... if you won't.... then kill me... I have nothing left,” she whispered, her chest heavy as she finally dared looking up again. Everything felt empty. “I have nothing left. No fear. No hate. Nothing. Without him, I have nothing.”

From somewhere far away, she could hear the crashing of waves. A soft breeze, carrying the scent of the sea and of basswood. She could feel soft grass under her fingers.  
“It's alright.” His voice was right before her and, after a moment of dread, she finally glanced up, looking into the face she had longed to see more than anything in the world. “Father,” she whispered, blinded by the light of the sun behind him, shining like a halo. Roctis stretched out a hand towards her, dressed in the simple black clothes he'd always wear back then, at home.  
“Is that really you?”, she whispered, squinting against the light. Her wounds no longer hurt. “... Father... I am sorry... I am so sorry,” she whispered, still kneeling in the grass before him. Her father crouched down in front of her, gently placing his fingers under her chin to make her face him. There was no rancor in his eyes, no grief, no sorrow, no bitterness. Only the genuine love and warmth she missed more than everything in the world.

“Everything I did for you, I would do again. In a thousand worlds, I would rather die protecting you than live without you. My only regret... is that in the end, I could not save you. But I am still proud of you. So proud.” Gently, he cupped her face with his palms, wiping away her tears with his thumbs. Helplessly, Ignes melted into the gentle touch.

“I wanted to save you... you gave me everything... my life... your life... I wanted... I wanted..”  
“I know. But I have you here, with me. That is all I would ever ask for. I don't need the world you left behind.”  
“I don't need this world either,” Ignes whispered, her tears slowly subsiding as she, carefully, placed a hand against his wrist, afraid he'd disappear if she dared touching him.

“Then there is nothing to hold us back anymore.” Slowly, he rose back to his feet and she followed him. He took her by the hand and Ignes followed willingly, to the edge of the sunny meadow they were on. Before them, the sea, deep blue and golden, vast, endless. "Are you afraid?", Roctis asked softly, turning his head to glance at her. Ignes swallowed.  
"No. With you by my side, I am not afraid anymore. There is nothing in this world left I care about." 

And so they jumped, diving into the water, deeper and deeper, past colorful reef, past swarms of fishes, past sharks hunting for prey, past whales and giant squids, past everything where the light of day no longer reached them, past a myriad stars, past the whole world she was so tired of, into the bright, shining light that filled her heard with an overwhelming joy and relief. She felt free. 

_I see the light! Father! I finally see the light! I am not afraid anymore._


End file.
